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Speculation grows on who Danica Patrick will drive for at 2018 Indy 500

Patrick held a news conference to say that she’d conclude her career in the Indianapolis 500

Not long after a tearful Danica Patrick announced that the 102nd Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil would be the final race of her career, the news was still too fresh for many Verizon IndyCar Series team officials to digest.

On Friday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Patrick held a news conference to say that the 2018 Daytona 500 in February would be her last NASCAR race and that she’d conclude her career in May at the race that made her famous, the Indianapolis 500.

Patrick, now 35, made her Indy debut in 2005 to a splash of worldwide attention. As a rookie, she became the first female driver to lead the race and was in first place with seven laps to go before being passed by eventual winner Dan Wheldon. She finished fourth that day, in the first of seven consecutive Indy 500 starts. She placed third in 2009, the best finish ever by a woman at “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”